ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ….......
zzzzzzzzzz…......
zzzz….......

Take Sominex tonight and sleep ... safe and restful ... sleep, sleep, sleep ...

ah, a zinnia pillow, just what I’ve always wanted...

The bees (or at least the bumblebees) have been acting strangely. They are not your typical busy bees. Au contraire my friend, they seem to be doing the exact opposite. They are sleepy, drugged, or? I have noticed this before right around this time of year. So bizarre. Is it an overdose of pollen? They are in a trance-like state for fifteen minutes or more. I can move the flower they are on, get my camera lens almost on their bodies and yet they snooze peacefully away. Their legs are in a relaxed position, their heads down as if in a deep snooze. After a while they awaken from their drug/pollen induced stupor and fly drunkenly off. Does anyone know why they do this?

let it all hang out

two naps are better than one

Then there is always the dangling sleep mode.

Don’t worry, it’s not dead, just very relaxed. After taking this photo I think the flash woke it up and it assumed this position.

Rebecca, at Pocahantas County Faire, is a bug expert and could explain this weird phenomenon to you. Her link is on my page.

Wow. Very weird!

Thanks, Reya I’ll pop over and ask her if she knows the reason. It’s very strange! Just like they’ve been drugged. Must be strong pollen this time of year!

Great pix, as usual!  And very interesting phenomenom.  My bees are busy as….bees!

P.S.  I think the history of the name of the Joe Pye plant has to do with a Native American that used it back in colonial times.

Think it’s that Colony Collapse disorder? When they all died off from the pesticides farmers’ used on their plants. Or maybe it’s natural drug?

Oh and let me know if the insect specialist has any answers!

Hi, Lynne,
Thanks for the question—I love your photos, and I’m really glad to find your blog!

You’ve hit the nail on the head—your bumblebees are snoozing. Ours are doing the exact same thing—just a little while ago, I pulled up the last of our onions, and, buried head-first in the flowers were several sound-asleep bumblebees. Besides sleeping in and around flowers, they’re crawling into piles of sawdust. If you disturb them, they stagger around a bit before flying away.

All insects spend some time sitting still, but “sleep” has been studied in the social insects and their relatives (ants, bees, wasps). I’ve often seen wasps and bees dangling (sometimes by their mandibles—imagine hanging by your teeth to take a nap!) underneath flowers on cool mornings, until they get warm enough to get busy.

These bees, dozing off in the middle of warm sunny days, are more puzzling. It might be because they are getting on toward the end of their life cycles. They’ve raised their babies, fulfilled their reproductive mission—why not grab a little nap?

Rebecca, thank you for your response! Fascinating creatures!